News

Here’s the latest news from our Instagram account.

3000 pounds of trash is a lot of trash and 3000 pounds of trash that has to be carried down nearly the full face of the Don Valley is a lot to carry. On Monday morning DMWTD was out on the old railway just north of the Viaduct Bridge with our corporate partner PCI. It was beautiful day to make a beautiful difference by cleaning up your community. Thank you so much to the incredible folks from PCI who worked hard the entire time. It was sweaty and a bit grimy but we managed to carry 135 bags of trash out of the valley. DMWTD has a number of opportunities for groups, companies and organizations to partner with us 💻 https://www.dontmesswiththedon.ca/for- businesses Year to date 2025: Clean up # 13 838 bags of trash 17,170 pounds of garbage including 1 ATM, 23 bikes, 5 mattresses, 18 propane tanks, an electric guitar, and more disposable wipes than we can carry. Thank you. ❤️ DMWTD - A Registered Canadian Charity (Photos 3-5 were taken by Stephen G., thank you 😊 ) #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldabetterplace #pci #pcipharmaservices #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
A New Hope Life is so precious and precarious for our native plants. As Metrolinx began to clear cut and bulldoze vast swaths of the Don Valley, before fences went up and areas were closed, volunteers went in and saved what native plants we could. We believe strongly in public transit but we also believe passionately in preserving local ecosystems. Biodiversity in Toronto's wild spaces has plummeted. Invasive species, development and pollution have devastated our native plants. We are so happy to see Trout Lillies, Leeks, Trilliums and May Apples now surviving and thriving in new areas. So many native plants are completely overwhelmed by invasives and over grazed by animals desperate for food. Animals whose habitat is disappearing or are getting marginal nutrition from invasive plants. Last night, year three of Project Buckthorn started and we saw miracles of spring. DMWTD and TNS (@torontonaturestewards) have removed over 8000 Buckthorn from our spot in Sunnybrook Park since 2024. With the newly increased light, space and nutrients now available to native plants like Trilliums, Trout Lillies, May Apples are sprouting in new abundance and numbers far greater than when we started. Project Buckthorn happens Mondays at 4:30 pm at Sunnybrook Park - Parking lot # 3 - Come see new life for yourself ❤️ DMWTD - A Registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #cityoftoronto #communityengagement #communityimpact #crickethatesinvasives #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #environmentclimateandforestry #invasivesbegone #makeadifference #naturelovers #projectbuckthorn #toronto #torontonaturestewards #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
Wreath Making with Evergreen Brick Works in moving pictures!
Earth Day/Week/Month is such a great time to be on Planet Earth 🌎 We get to hang out with the nicest people doing really great things for our planet. Last Saturday we had a couple hundred friends over for a huge clean up and twice this week we have gathered with over 125 earthlings join us to pull out invasive species and restore delicate ecosystems. Today we were out at one of our favourite places, Evergreen Brick Works (@evergreen_brick_works) making wreaths out of those very invasives we removed. Buckthorn wreaths with other found materials plus a bit of ribbon turned out just lovely. DMWTD has been running our Saturdays at the Container Art program for 5 years now and occasionally we take it on the road. Thank you so much to Sonya and the Staff at the Brick Works for helping us host such a wonderful event. Thank you to all the amazing creative people who came out this morning. We had the best time. For those who have been asking, and there have been many, kayaking starts on May 18th and the sign up will be on Eventbrite shortly. ❤️ DMWTD - a registered Canadian Charity #artsandcrafts #dontmesswiththedon #earthmonth #evergreenbrickworks #nature #natureinthecity #naturelovers
The saying goes, "A society grows great when old people plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in". We may add ,” A society that tends it's meadows and defends it's pollinators shall always bloom" 🐝 Today some 60 wonderful volunteers tended, defended and stewarded our meadows, forests and planet. They pulled, clipped, bagged and dug out the invasive species that dominate our wild spaces. Buckthorn, Teasel, Burdock, Honeysuckle and many other invasives were removed and space was created for our native ecosystem to flourish again. Thank you so much to so many. Thank you to Rotary (@rotarytoronto), Microsoft (@microsoftcanada), George Brown ESL (@gbcesl), and all those who came out today for DMWTD Earth Day Stewardship. Thank you to MPP Stephanie Bowman (@bowman_dvw) who came out again to support the Don Valley. The sun peeked out in time to see the kids making seed balls which warmed us all. Thank you so much to all the DMWTD stewards who came out today to lead with their hearts and hands. DMWTD regular stewardship program is every Wednesday at 5 pm. DMWTD and Toronto Nature Stewards (@torontonaturestewards) start year 3 of Project Buckthorn this Monday at Sunnybrook Park, parking lot # 3 at 4:30 pm. ❤️DMWTD - a registered Canadian Charity #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #earthday #nativeplants #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #toronto #TorontoNature #torontoravines #torontotrails #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
We couldn't have asked for better tree planting weather than than this! Today, we teamed up with the wonderful folks at Hazelview Properties (@hazelviewproperties) for a stewardship event in Sun Valley. Together, we: 🌱 removed invasive species 🔨 repaired aging garden fences 🌲 planted native trees to rejuvenate the valley's ecosystem A heartfelt thank you to Hazelview Properties (@hazelviewproperties) for their dedication, and to all the volunteers who joined us. Your efforts are helping to ensure the Don Valley remains a vibrant and healthy environment for generations to come. Want to get involved? Well you're in luck - you can this Saturday at 10 am for our Earth Day Stewardship event! See you at Sun Valley 😃 ❤️ DMWTD - A Registered Canadian Charity #dontmesswiththedon #HazelviewProperties #nativeplants #nature #natureinthecity #naturelover #toronto #TorontoNature #torontoravines #torontotrails #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
Let's not pick up trash. no more clean ups. What's that you say DMWTD????? How about a world where ravines, rivers, neighbourhoods and the planet don't need clean ups? Over 50% of the trash we picked up last Saturday was ghost garbage. Garbage that had been thrown away once already. Plastics that are coming out of building dumpsters that are left open or overflowing. 50% of all the Earth Day trash we have done at E. T. Seton Park - more than 50,000 pounds of trash that had to be picked up more than once. We have worked so hard at reducing the upstream and ghost garbage but we can do more. Our Lets Talk Tim project aimed at slowing down the hundreds of thousands of disposable cups and lids that litter the streets and parks of Toronto has had some success but we can do more. We have a few amazing folks working on these issues but we could sure use a few more. this includes creating social media and media as well as organizing events and strategic planning. Please email us info@dontmesswiththedon.ca if you are interested. Cheers, ❤️ DMWTD #dontlitter #donvalley #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #maketheworldbetterforcricket #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteeringintoronto
TMX x RWCI x DMWTD - Corktown Commons Clean Up Yesterday, 18 incredible humans showed up, rain jackets on and spirits high, to help clean one of Toronto's beloved running and biking trails near Corktown Commons. Together we removed 40 bags of trash — that's over 780 pounds of garbage gone from the Don. Along the way we found: 🛏️ 1 mattress 🏒 1 hockey stick And more Gu energy gel wrappers than we could count (runners, we see you 👀) To everyone who runs, bikes, or strolls through these trails — let's work together to keep them clean. These are outdoor spaces we love. Let's not trash them. Huge thank you to the folks at @tsxtsxv @rwci for getting their hands dirty with us. You made a real impact. Our next event is our big Earth Day Stewardship happening this Saturday at Sun Valley at 10 am!  Year to date 2025: Clean up # 10 703 bags of trash 14,170 pounds of garbage including 1 ATM, 10 bikes, 4 mattresses, an electric guitar, and more disposable wipes than we can carry. Thank you.  ❤️ DMWTD - A registered Canadian Charity
🌎 Happy Earth Day to you, Happy Earth Day to you, Happy Earth Day Don Valley, Happy Earth Day to you!! 🌎 "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #earthday
We know what the people want... MOAR CRICKET PHOTOS... I mean more Earth Day Cleanup photos!!!!! The first 17 of this set of photos were taken by our fantastic guest photographer Madeline Yeung (@maddiyeung). Thank you Madeline for developing some mountain goat-like skills to help out with these photos! #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #earthday #earthdaytoronto #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #naturelovers #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
EARTH DAY CLEAN UP -2025 RECAP Thank you to you. To the families, to the passionate ones, to the those who love the planet, to those who love their neighbours and neighbourhoods, to the dog walkers, the trail runners, the mountain bikers, to those who love the small things and believe in big things, we thank you all. Over 180 people of our community came out today and cleaned a huge area of E. T. Seton Park and beyond. There were volunteers on the hills, in the ravines, out on Don Mills and all over the place showing how much they care. 160 bags of trash, mostly plastics, and over 3200 pounds of garbage is no longer in the Don Valley. Don't Mess with the Don has been advocating and working on prevention and reducing source trash since our inception. On this, our 8th Earth day clean up we announce that we are formally creating a task force to tackle the trash from buildings with overflowing and improperly maintained dumpsters that are responsible for over 50% of the trash picked up today. We want to thank the groups and companies and employees of those companies that were with us today - @patagoniatoronto, @fjallravenofficial , @starbuckscanada, @salomonrunning, Toronto Police Services @tps53div, @torontonaturestewards, @rotarytorontoeglinton, @torontotrailrunners, @the.trail.collective and others. Thank you to Rob Oliphant MP (@rob_oliphant) and Dr. Adil Shamji MPP (@shamjiadil)for being with us again, yes again. Thank you to our photographers, Rica who is responsible for about 75% of all the amazing photos you see on DWMTD social media and guest photographers Kent Keeler and Madeline Prendergast. Thank you to @cbctoronto who came out to document and report on the efforts of all these wonderful folks. Year to date 2025 Clean up # 9 663 bags of trash 13,390 pounds of trash including an electric guitar, an ATM, 10 bikes, 3 mattresses and more disposable wipes than we could carry Thank you ❤️ DMWTD - A Registered Canadian Charity
7 spots left for Wreath Making with @evergreen_brick_works for Earth Month. We supply all the materials and you supply, well, you! You must register. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/phBLoxFZBCFLF1XX6 We wreath-y look forward to seeing you and your creativity! #artsandcrafts #buckthornfinallyhasause #dontmesswiththedon #evergreenbrickworks #naturelovers #wreathpartridge #wreathrichards #wreathersutherland
🏃 Youth Trail Running - Season 6 starts May 13th 🏃🏼‍♀️ DMWTD returns to the Single Track Trails with our Youth Trail Running clinics every Tuesday and Thursday evening at 5 pm for youth 10 to 15. We have great instructors ready to lead the four weeks of clinics. Youth get shoes to take home with them courtesy of our amazing partner Salomon (@salomontoronto) as well an original DMWTD trail shirt. Youth will get the chance to explore many of the amazing trails in the Don Valley as well learn about its history and wildlife. 🦝 There are 15 spots per day and as usual participants can switch between days as needed. All DMWTD programs are free to everyone all the time. Please email us at info@dontmesswiththedon.ca if you have any questions. These groups fill ups very quick so get on this fast (like a trail runner) https://forms.gle/WESAqmdw8vja5zyp7 #donvalley #dontmesswiththedon #runningtheravines #salomon #salomontoronto #trailrunning #youthtrailrunning
Season 4 of Project Buckthorn starts April 28th at 4:30 pm. Rumour has it this year there may be t-shirts!! Come out and help remove invasive Buckthorn with DMWTD and TNS (@torontonaturestewards). Each year we have a great group of folks helping to restore a large area in Sunnybrook Park. We will be removing Buckthorn and also DSV, Honeysuckle etc. No need to register. #amazingvolunteers #cityoftoronto #communityengagement #communityimpact #crickethatesinvasives #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #environmentclimateandforestry #invasivesbegone #makeadifference #naturelovers #projectbuckthorn #toronto #torontonaturestewards#volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
☀️ It’s a beautiful day ☀️ 75 beautiful people on a beautiful sunny day cleaned over 2400 pounds of trash from the Don Valley and that is …… well beautiful. Thank you to everyone who came out today. Thank you to those who came out for the first time, for the 10th time and those who come out every time. Every cup, bottle, candy wrapper and piece plastic dropped or thrown carelessly has to be picked up. If not, it spoils the only planet we have. These folks are on their hands and knees grabbing that cup, 120 bags of trash that must be carried and kids asking why people litter as they fill a bag of that plastic? Thank you to our partner in today‘s clean up, @evergreen_brick_works and thank you Councillor @joshmatlow for your support. Our next clean up is our big Earth Day Cleanup in E.T. Seton Park next Saturday at 10 am. This is followed by our Earth Day Stewardship Event at our container hub on April 26th at 10 am. Year to date 2025 Clean up # 8 503 bags of trash 10,190 pounds of trash including an electric guitar, an ATM, 6 bikes, 2 mattresses and more disposable wipes than we could carry Thank you ❤️ DMWTD - A Registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #evergreenbrickworks #garbagecleanup #joshmatlow #makeadifference #naturelovers #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
ET Seton Park is full of plastics and on 🌎 Earth Day 🌎, April 19th at 10am, we are going to change that. We did our scout of the clean up area in ET Seton Park yesterday and it's pretty rough. So many plastics from overflowing dumpsters. DMWTD is hosting our 8th Earth Day clean up and we estimate more than 50 % of the more than 100,000 pounds of trash picked up in these events is trash from garbage coming out of dumpsters lids left open, blown open or overstuffed. On Earth Day 2019, over 700 DMWTD volunteers clean 30,000 pounds of trash in one morning. For Earth Day 2025 we have some great partners coming out - Starbucks (@starbuckscanada), Fjallraven (@fjallravenofficial), Patagonia (@patagoniatoronto), Salomon (@salomontoronto), Rotary (@rotarytoronto) who are all supporting this effort and we are hoping you are coming out too. 10am at the Thorncliffe Entrance in ET Seton Park at the bottom of the hill. Look for the DMWTD signs. We have everything you need plus snacks and drinks. Many thanks ❤️ DMWTD #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #earthday #earthdaytoronto #fjallraven #fjallravencanada #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #naturelovers #patagonia #patagoniatoronto #patagoniacanada #rotaryclub #rotaryclubtoronto #salomon #salomontoronto #starbucks #starbuckscanada#toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
DMWTD had a pizza🍕party with 25 of our closest friends down on Cherry St. last night. We talked, we laughed and we cleaned 1300 pounds of trash. It's like a games night or trivia but you get to help save the world from plastics. Thank you so much to all our great volunteers and thank you so much to Nicole from our WhatsApp event group for suggesting an evening clean up. Under the Gardiner and parts of the Lakeshore and Portlands look so much better. Upcoming events include our April 13th clean up at the Brick Works, our Huge Earth 🌎 Day clean up in E.T. Seton Park on April 19th and our Earth Day stewardship event on April 26th at our container hub at the Loblaws Trailhead & Sun Valley. If you are have a group please contact us at info@dontmesswiththedon.ca to be part of any of these events or if you want to create your own cool pizza party clean up. Year to date 2025: Clean up # 7 381 bags of trash 7750 pounds of trash including an electric guitar, an 🏧, 6 bikes, 2 mattresses and more disposable wipes than we could carry Thank you ❤️ DMWTD - A Registered Canadian Charity #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #cricketlikespizza #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #makelawrencwdopushups #naturelovers #pizzaandpickup #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
DMWTD had the best time today at @havergalcollege TC- 9 Knowledge Fair. We had the opportunity to connect with the students on the work we do and how seven years ago three trail runners decided to do a clean up on the Ridge Trail in the Don Valley and that became DMWTD. The students asked about climate change, microplastics, invasive species and many other critical issues but most often they asked about how did DMWTD happen. The passion those three trail runners had in 2018 found compassion and community in so many other wonderful volunteers who cared about the Don Valley and the life within it. Clean ups begat Stewardship and then Environmental Arts and then Youth Trail Running and then Mountain Biking and Kayaking and most recently a kid's summer camp. Small actions by ordinary passionate people sparking change. One bag of garbage, a small patch of DSV removed, a connection with another volunteer or a paddle to the islands and taking one tire out of the lake. That's how we got here and that's how we are going to make this better. Thanks so much to all the great students and staff at @havergalcollege for having us out today. We admire your spirit, knowledge and desire to make the world a better place. DMWTD #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #havergalcollege #makeadifference #nature #natureinthecity #naturelovers #toronto #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
Lead Volunteers needed for Earth Day 🌎 Earth Day with DMWTD is always a great event and volunteers remove tens of thousands of pounds of plastics and trash from our ravines. Some of you might have been there in 2019 when some 700 DMWTD folks cleaned over 30,000 pounds of trash in one morning and many have come out every year. We need about 12 people able to help leading groups to clean up areas and provide support during the clean up. 9 am arrival and the event concludes around 1 pm. Enthusiasm is the only requirement for this opportunity. The clean up, as always, is in E.T. Seton Park at the bottom of the Thorncliffe entrance on April 19th. Here is the link to signup and support this 7th annual clean up gala. https://forms.gle/BbDHcoE1DcRrynNA6 Many thanks and check out all our Earth Day/Week events ❤️ DMWTD #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garbagecleanup #getyourvolunteerhoursin #helpwanted #makeadifference #nature #natureinthecity #naturelovers #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto
DMWTD is trying something new in clean ups, which doesn't seem possible after over 400 clean ups but it is. We will be hosting our first Pick Up (clean up but pick up sounds better) and Pizza evening this Thursday. We will be meeting at 5:30 pm at the Dark Horse Espresso Bar in the Distillery District (map in photos). We have had a lot, ok some, enquiries about a clean up on Lakeshore Blvd and environs under the Gardiner Expressway. With all the wet weekend weather we have had we are going to mix it up a bit with our first ever weekday evening clean up. Thursday does show it will be much warmer with a chance of rain in the morning but we are going to give it a try. So come out for the first ever Pick Up and Pizza. Let's tidy up the waterfront and afterwards enjoy pizza slices and beverages. See you at the coffee shop ☕️ DMWTD #amazingvolunteers #communityengagement #communityimpact #cricketlikespizza #dontlitter #dontmesswiththedon #donvalley #garbagecleanup #makeadifference #naturelovers #pickupandpizza #toronto #trashcleanup #volunteering #volunteeringintoronto